We inspected the service on 14 June 2016. The inspection was announced. The provider was given 48 hours’ notice because the location provides domiciliary care; we needed to be sure that someone would be in.

Caremark –Hinckley, Bosworth and Blaby is a domiciliary care agency that provides personal care to people in their own homes. On the day of our inspection the service was supporting 60 people.

The service had a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

People felt safe in their own homes. Call times were monitored to ensure that people received their care at agreed times.

The registered manager had assessed the risks associated with providing care in the home environment. Risk assessments were reviewed periodically in line with the provider’s guidelines. Risk assessments were under review at the time of our inspection.

Staff understood how to keep people safe and report concerns if needed. Where concerns had not been raised at the time with relevant outside agencies the registered manager had identified this and notified them retrospectively. Staff had undergone relevant employment checks.

Staff had received training and supervision to meet the needs of the people who used the service. Staff told us that they felt supported. Their competence to do their role was regularly assessed.

Some people had the capacity to make decisions about their care and the support they received. These people were involved in the planning of their care and their opinions sought and respected. The service did not follow the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards DoLS), best interest decisions had not been made in line with the Act.

People were supported to maintain their health and wellbeing. They were promoted to take their medicines by staff. People’s health needs were met and when necessary, outside health professionals were contacted for support. People were supported to have sufficient to eat and drink.

People were treated with kindness and respect. People’s independence was promoted and choice making encouraged. Staff knew people well and treated them with kindness and compassion. People received a consistent level of support.

The registered manager had assessed the care needs of people using the service. Staff had a clear understanding of their role and how to support people who used the service as individuals. People were involved in the planning of their care and their feedback was sought.

Staff felt supported by the manager. They were clear on their role and the expectation on them. Most people who used the service and staff felt that they could talk to the manager and had confidence that they would address issues if required. People told us that they knew how to make a complaint if they needed to. Relatives found the registered manager to be approachable.

The registered manager had implemented systems to monitor the provision of service. There were effective systems for gathering information about the service, identifying areas of concern and to drive improvement. The registered manager had taken action to address concerns.

During this inspection we met two people who used the service and the relative of one of these people. We also spoke by telephone with one other person. People told us they were satisfied with the care they received and were complimentary about the staff that supported them.

People had been involved in making arrangements about the way their care and support was to be delivered. Their needs and preferences had been taken into account and they had signed documents to confirm they agreed with the arrangements that were in place.

Care was planned and delivered in a reliable way. We looked at the records of three people who used the service and found that these were up to date and reflected people’s current needs. People told us that staff arrived on time and carried out all the tasks that were needed.

Staff had been supported to enable them to deliver safe and effective care. They had received appropriate induction training at the beginning of their employment. The manager of the service completed regular checks to make sure that staff carried out their roles effectively.

The provider had systems in place to monitor the overall quality of the service. This included speaking to people who used the service to ask them for their views and checking written records to ensure they were properly completed.

At the time of our inspection the registered manager was temporarily absent. The provider had taken appropriate action and informed the Care Quality Commission about this absence. An acting manager was in place with responsibility for the day to day management of the service.